Tag: epa

EPA Final Determination Protects Bristol Bay Salmon Fisheries
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EPA Final Determination Protects Bristol Bay Salmon Fisheries

A final determination on plans for a proposed mine adjacent to the Bristol Bay watershed in Southwest Alaska released Jan. 31 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) favors protections for the huge run of wild sockeye salmon and a multi-million-dollar fisheries economy. The EPA said its determination would protect waters important to sustaining the area’s salmon resources from disposal of dredged or fill materials associated with developing the copper, gold and molybdenum Pebble deposit that a Canadian mining firm wants to develop. The battle between development to extract these minerals from the deposit abutting the Bristol Bay watershed has been ongoing for two decades. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the Bristol Bay watershed is a vital economic driver providing jobs, sus...
EPA Revises Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’
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EPA Revises Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’

Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army have announced establishment of a final rule on the definition of “waters of the United States (WOTUS).” The final rule restores essential water protections that were in place prior to 2015 under the Clean Water Act for traditional navigable waters, territorial seas and interstate waters, as well as upstream water resources that significantly impact those waters. The EPA said this action would strengthen fundamental protections for waters that are sources of drinking water, and also support agriculture, local economies and downstream communities. The EPA also stated that this final rule restores fundamental protections so that the national will be closer to achieving Congress’ goal in the Clea...
Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination
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Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination

A final determination on the future of a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed could be handed down in February by the Environmental Protection Agency, but more litigation and possible deadline extensions could follow.  Still, the announcement in early December by Casey Sixkiller, Regional 10 administrator for the EPA, that he had transmitted to the agency’s headquarters a Recommended Determination to prohibit and restrict use of certain waters in the watershed for certain discharges of dredged or fill materials from the mine got plenty of attention. Advocates for the Canadian-owned mine, a subsidiary of the diversified global mining group Hunter Dickenson in Vancouver, British Columbia, cried foul while opponents of the project hailed the possibil...
EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine
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EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has extended its consideration period for proposed restrictions on mining at the proposed Pebble mine site in Southwest Alaska, this time until Dec. 2. The comment period was originally set to end in July, then continued to early September. While the comment period is now closed, the EPA is giving itself additional time to consider its decision. The crux of the issue is the potential adverse impact of the mine on the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon. The 2022 season was a record breaker for the millions of salmon caught in Bristol Bay, providing thousands of jobs to workers and millions of dollars to the industry and economy of Alaska. The EPA is currently faced with whether to withdraw proposed r...
EPA Investing $79M in Columbia River Basin Restoration
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EPA Investing $79M in Columbia River Basin Restoration

Environmental Protection Agency officials, citing toxic contaminants in the Columbia River Basin as a serious risk to the region’s economic health, said that the EPA plans to invest $79 million over five years for protection and restoration of the river. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said up to $6.9 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Clean Water Act grants would be awarded during 2022 alone to reduce toxics in fish and water and address climate impacts in communities throughout the area. “The Columbia River Basin is a vital economic engine and an irreplaceable environmental asset, providing a broad range of benefits from agriculture to recreation to electricity, but toxic contaminants in the basin pose a serious risk,” Regan said in an Aug. 10 announcement. EPA ...
Coalition Petitions EPA to Update Proposed Rule on Dispersant Use
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Coalition Petitions EPA to Update Proposed Rule on Dispersant Use

A coalition of Gulf Coast advocates and environmental entities is petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to supplement its proposed rule on dispersant use of oil spill response, a rule that hasn’t been updated since it was proposed in January 2015. The proposed rule would allow unlimited amounts of toxic dispersants to be used for unlimited durations on the sea surface and in the deep sea, which is what happened in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster on April 20, 2010. One of the largest marine oil spills in history, the Deepwater Horizon incident was caused by the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, some 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana, and the subsequent sinking of the oil rig two days later. Four million barrels of oil...
EPA’s Revised Proposed Determination Scrutinized
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EPA’s Revised Proposed Determination Scrutinized

Proponents and opponents of the proposed Pebble mine project converged on the cities of Dillingham and Newhalen, and virtually in Southwest Alaska this past week to testify on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s revised proposed determination regarding a Clean Water Act permit, which they see as a long term way to stop construction of the mine. Their testimony came as fishermen and seafood processing workers headed for Bristol Bay to harvest and process the millions of red salmon forecast to return to the Bay in 2022. Several dozen opponents of the large-scale copper, gold and molybdenum mine turned out at the Dillingham hearing to testify. Mine boosters, including John Shively, chief executive officer of the Pebble Partnership, testified at Newhalen, contending that such ...